- Physician's Weekly

Effectiveness of sacubitril-valsartan in post-myocardial infarction management

Feb 7, 2022

1. In patients with acute myocardial infarction, Sacubitril-valsartan was not associated with a significantly lower incidence of death from cardiovascular causes compared to patients receiving ramipril. 2. In patients with acute myocardial infarction, treatment with sacubitril-valsartan did not result in significantly lower rates of incident heart failure than did treatment with ramipril. Evidence Rating Level: […]

#VisualAbstract: Ianalumab shows a dose-related improvement in disease activity in Sjögren’s syndrome without serious adverse events

Feb 7, 2022

There was a dose-related decrease in disease activity from baseline to 24-weeks for patients on ianalumab compared to placebo. There were no serious adverse events from the maximum dose of 300 mg ianalumab, and it was well tolerated by trial participants. Evidence Rating Level: 1 (Excellent) Study Rundown: Sjögren’s syndrome is an autoimmune disorder which is currently […]

Moderate hypothermia during venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation not associated with a decrease in 30-day mortality

Feb 7, 2022

1. The 30-day mortality was not significantly lower in the group treated with moderate hypothermia during venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) (42%) than in the group that was held at normothermia during ECMO (51%). 2. Adverse events, such as bleeding and nosocomial infections, occurred at a similar rate in the hypothermia and normothermia groups, but […]

Semaglutide and phentermine-topiramate are effective weight reducing medications

Feb 7, 2022

1. GLP-1 receptor agonists, such as semaglutide, and phentermine-topiramate were shown to cause the greatest percent decrease in body weight. 2. GLP-1 receptor agonists, phentermine-topiramate, and naltrexone-bupropion were also associated with increased adverse effects. Evidence Rating Level: 1 (Excellent) Study Rundown: Over two-thirds of Americans are considered to be in the overweight or obese body-mass […]

Angiotensin II receptor type 2 and 4-stimulating antihypertensives associated with reduced long-term cognitive impairment compared to receptor inhibitors

Feb 7, 2022

1. This secondary analysis of the SPRINT cohort study demonstrated that type 2 and 4 angiotensin II receptor (AT2R/AT4R)-stimulating antihypertensives decreased the risk of amnestic mild cognitive impairment or probable dementia by approximately 25% compared to AT2R/AT4R-inhibiting antihypertensives. Evidence Rating Level: 2 (Good) Study Rundown: Hypertension is a well-known, highly prevalent, modifiable risk for dementia. […]

#VisualAbstract: Induction chemotherapy with concurrent chemoradiotherapy may improve survival in intermediate-risk pediatric patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Feb 7, 2022

Click to read this study in the European Journal of Cancer.

Knee extensor muscle weakness may be a risk factor for osteoarthritis

Feb 4, 2022

1. Low quality evidence demonstrates that knee extensor muscle weakness increased the odds of symptomatic and radiographic knee osteoarthritis in men and women. 2. In women with a previous knee injury, low quality evidence shows no association between knee extensor muscle weakness and symptomatic and radiographic tibiofemoral osteoarthritis. Evidence Rating Level: 2 (Good) Knee osteoarthritis […]

Tofacitinib increases cardiovascular and cancer risk in rheumatoid arthritis

Feb 4, 2022

1. Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treated with tofacitinib showed a higher risk of developing major adverse cardiovascular events and cancers, compared to those treated with a tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitor. 2. Efficacy was similar between tofacitinib and TNF inhibitor in treating RA. Evidence Rating Level: 1 (Excellent) Study Rundown: Rheumatoid arthritis is a […]

#VisualAbstract: Convalescent Plasma Ineffective at Improving Clinical Outcomes or Mortality in Non-Ventilated Patients With COVID-19

Feb 3, 2022

This meta-analysis found that treatment with COVID-19 convalescent plasma (CCP), compared to control group treatment, did not improve clinical outcomes, as measured by the World Health Organization clinical outcome score, or mortality. There was an improvement in the mortality and clinical outcomes for participants treated with CCP who had a baseline WHO score of 4 […]

Endovascular thrombectomy 6 to 24-hours after anterior circulation stroke significantly reduces disability rates

Feb 3, 2022

1. Patients in the thrombectomy group reported a greater independence in daily living compared to those receiving best medical therapy alone. 2. 90-day mortality did not differ between the thrombectomy and best medical therapy groups. Evidence Rating Level: 1 (Excellent) Study Rundown: There exists extensive evidence around the use of mechanical thrombectomy for patients with […]

mRNA-1273 vaccine reduces risk of Covid-19-related outcomes compared to BNT162b2 in U.S. veterans

Feb 2, 2022

1. The mRNA-1273 vaccine was shown to reduce the absolute risk of Covid-19-related outcomes in U.S. veterans compared to BNT162b2 vaccine. 2. Both mRNA-1273 and BNT162b2 vaccines were shown to reduce the absolute risk of Covid-19-related outcomes in U.S. veterans. Evidence Rating Level: 2 (Good) Study Rundown: To help combat the SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) pandemic, messenger […]

Higher sodium and lower potassium urinary excretion increase cardiovascular risk

Feb 2, 2022

1. Patients with a high sodium-to-potassium ratio were shown to be at higher risk for cardiovascular events. 2. A higher sodium urinary excretion and lower potassium excretion in patients was shown to increase the risk of cardiovascular events. Evidence Rating Level: 2 (Good) Study Rundown: Increased sodium consumption has been well-correlated with an incidence of […]

Agreement between magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography limited in diagnosing anatomic pancreatic variants

Feb 2, 2022

1. Based on radiologists’ blinded review of 74 paired scans, agreement between magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) was moderate for the diagnosis of pancreatic duct variants and for specific diagnoses. 2. Concordance among the group of reviewers was moderate to substantial. Evidence Rating Level: 2 (Good) Study Rundown: Pancreas divisum is […]

Isometric exercise training may be more effective at blood pressure management than high intensity interval training

Feb 2, 2022

1. When compared to high intensity interval training (HIIT), isometric exercise training (IET) produced greater reductions in resting systolic, diastolic and mean blood pressure (BP). 2. Furthermore, HIIT reduced resting heart rate significantly more than IET. Evidence Rating Level: 1 (Excellent) There are currently many limitations regarding medication usage to reduce blood pressure (BP) which […]

Preeclampsia and perinatal complications associated with increased risk neurodevelopmental and psychiatric diagnoses

Feb 2, 2022

1. A population-based retrospective cohort study found that the risk of certain psychiatric and neurodevelopmental diagnoses was higher in births exposed to maternal preeclampsia and perinatal complications compared to preeclampsia alone. 2. Increased risk for the following were identified: certain developmental disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and conduct disorder. Evidence Rating Level: 2 (Good) […]

Patient and prescription factors associated with overdose after initiating opioids

Feb 2, 2022

1. Opioid overdoses were more frequent in those aged ≥75 or 18-24, who were male, Black, or had non-commercial insurance. Non-fatal opioid overdoses were more common in participants with comorbidities, prescribed long-acting opioids, received 6 opioid prescriptions in 6 months, or who filled opioid prescriptions at ≥3 pharmacies. 2. More opioid overdoses occurred in participants […]

#VisualAbstract: Addition of radiotherapy to anti-PD-1 therapy does not improve survival in advanced mucosal melanoma

Feb 2, 2022

Click to read this study in the European Journal of Cancer.

Australian RSV epidemic seasonality – but not severity – altered by COVID-19

Feb 1, 2022

1. RSV infections and hospitalizations peaked in December of 2020, a significant change in timing from the usual autumn and winter epidemics of the last six years, according to epidemiologic research from the Sydney Children’s Hospital Network. 2. There were significant differences in age distribution of RSV disease burden, but not disease severity, as measured by […]

Tricuspid repair in patients with mitral regurgitation offers clinical benefits

Feb 1, 2022

1. In patients with severe degenerative mitral regurgitation who received mitral-valve surgery, those who also received tricuspid regurgitation surgery had less frequent progression to severe tricuspid regurgitation. 2. Incidence of pacemaker implantation was higher in patients who received concomitant tricuspid repair along with mitral-valve surgery. Evidence Rating Level: 1 (Excellent) Study Rundown: Tricuspid regurgitation is […]

Lenvatinib plus pembrolizumab increased survival for advanced endometrial cancer patients when compared to chemotherapy

Feb 1, 2022

1. The median progression-free survival and overall survival was longer with lenvatinib plus pembrolizumab than with chemotherapy. 2. Clinically important adverse events in the combination group included hypertension, thyroid dysfunction, colitis and diarrhea Evidence Rating Level: 1 (Excellent) Study Rundown: Advanced endometrial cancer after platinum treatment remains difficult to treat and fiver-year survival remains poor. […]

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Author: Mukuntha Subburayan